DribbleDrabbleDrooblelets
by midnightluck
Summary: Little shorts about random happenings to all of our favorite characters, as well as some possible answers to questions never addressed...
1. Keeping Secrets

**Keeping Secrets**

"Hey, Ai…I've got a question for you." Ai looked up to see Conan leaning casually against the door to her laboratory.

"Mmm?" She swung back around on her chair to resume working on…something. Conan neither recognized it nor wanted to. With Ai, it was often better not to know.

Conan scrubbed a hand through his bangs, irritably pushing them out of his eyes. "Well, I've been wondering…You know how if the organization found out I was still alive, they'd come back and kill me and everyone I care about et cetera, et cetera?"

"I am…intimately familiar with the situation, yes." Ai never looked up from her table, reaching for a pair of tweezers. Something twitched. Conan shuddered and turned away.

"And that's because, hypothetically, when the baddies find out and bring out the cavalry to 'fix their mistake,' they'll 'erase' everyone who knows about them."

Ai was puzzled for a second, and then she looked up, her eyes flashing in anger. "Kudo, you _didn't…_"

"You're entirely right. I didn't do anything. Anyhow, here's what confuses me; how would the Black organization know whether or not I told everybody?"

"What?"

He sighed, and briefly closed his eyes. "What I mean is, if they come for me, wouldn't they just kill some people anyhow? Because they can't be _sure_ I haven't mentioned anything…."

Ai shrugged. "I suppose. And if they reveal themselves to ask, then it's redundant. So, I guess it's a good possibility. Especially with those closest to you…"

"So why am I not telling Ran that I'm really Shinichi?"

Ai rolled her eyes. They'd been over this a million times. "Because if the Black Organization comes after you they'll kill everyone who….Oh."

"Exactly." Conan pushed himself away from the wall and headed towards the door. Ai became aware of sounds drifting in from the living room. It sounded as if Agasa was having tea with someone. Her guess was confirmed when Conan, already through the door, called out, "Oi, Ran…We need to talk."

* * *

_Disclaimer for this and all following chapters:_ Yeah, so don't own. If I did, Magic Kaito would be longer than four volumes.


	2. When Hakuba Met Conan

"Kuroba, I hate kids

_This is assuming Kaito and Conan have already met, and know each other's secrets. _

**When Hakuba Met Conan**

"Kuroba, I _hate_ kids. And they hate me. I really don't think this is a good idea."

Kaito ignored the protesting blonde, drawing him along by his wrist. 

"I don't want to meet any kids! Stop it!"

A grin spread over Kaito's face. "No, I think you'll like this kid. You two Holmes-freaks should get along famously."

"Holmes…? What?"

"Just wait. You'll see."

The two of them entered the park; one voluntarily, the other less so. They approached a small group of children engaged in a game of soccer. "Oi, Conan-kun!" The dragger called out. "I have someone I want you to meet!" He brandished the captive hand of the drag-ee like a prize.

One small boy detached himself from the soccer game to head over in their direction. "Kaito-niichan! What are you doing here?"

Kaito smiled cheerfully. "I wanted you to meet my detective-friend, Hakuba Saguru. Say 'hi' to the nice little kid, 'Kuba-kun."

Hakuba drew himself up in proper British manner. "I asked you not to call me that." Turning to the little kid in front of him, he awkwardly knelt to down to be on eye-level with what he had mentally dubbed the 'chibi-demon.' "Ummm. Hello there, little boy…." He glanced back up at Kuroba, who was wearing an anything-but-encouraging grin. Kaito made a little shooing motion with his hand, telling the detective to get back to it. "Ummm…would you like a lollipop?"

Reactions were immediate. The chibi-demo—that is to say, _Conan_ gave him a death-glare. Kaito fell over in laughter. Hakuba, sensing he had made a horrible misstep, turned red and stood up. "You know, Kuroba, one of these days, I _will_ kill you."

Kaito was laughing too hard to answer.


	3. Inside Job?

**Inside Job?**

"Wait…then that means…"

"Yes." The light glinted off Conan's glasses as he made his deduction. "The killer…is one of you!" He pointed to a small group of three people behind Inspector Megure.

"Oi, Kudo," Hattori leaned down towards the chibi. "How are you so sure? There's no evidence that it was an inside job."

Conan shrugged. "Because that's how it works. If the killer wasn't right here, it'd be impossible for me to determine them quickly. An unrelated murder would be pretty much impossible to solve in three chapters. So, the killer is in the group of suspects. Besides, that's how it always goes."


	4. Kaito and the Terrible, Horrible, No Goo

**Kaito and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day**

_We're ignoring the fact that checking for Pandora requires the moon. Also, If you haven't read or don't remember _Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day, _you prolly won't get this. _

_Handy-dandy link to the aforementioned story:_

_http/ www. fromtheheartpostcards .com/ICQ/alexander.html_

* * *

I went to sleep with my disguise still on, and now there's makeup all in my hair and on my pillow and when I got out of bed I tripped on my KID hat and dropped my school jacket in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day.

On the way to school I was late meeting Aoko and she was mad at me and tried to chase me all the way to school. She wouldn't've caught me either, but Akako and Hakuba appeared and I crashed into them and we all fell down and Aoko hit me a couple of times with her mop. And then Akako and Hakuba also hit me just for good measure. I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day.

At school the teacher made me sit down and stop teasing Aoko. At math time she said I laughed too loud and tried to send me to the principal. When I turned Keiko's glasses into a frog she told Aoko to chase me and when I made Akako's books get up and do the Cha-cha Slide she tried to hex me. At English time the teacher said I forgot to use the word 'the'. Who needs prepositions or whatever anyways? I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day.

I could tell because when I flipped Aoko's skirt, she was wearing the fish undies and Akako kept giving me _looks_ and Hakuba looked smug, and I hate it when Hakuba looks smug because it generally means he knows something I don't. I hope you sit on a tack, I said to Hakuba. I hope the next time you get a double-decker strawberry ice-cream cone the ice cream part falls off the cone part and lands in Australia (Hakuba looked rather confused).

There were onigiri in Aoko's lunch and Keiko got curry and Akako's mother gave her a piece of jelly roll that had little coconut sprinkles on top. Guess whose mother decided today was a good day for sushi? It was a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day.

That's what it was, because after school I finally got a chance to check my heist and it wasn't Pandora. Jii just said I'd have to try again next week, but I said I couldn't because next week I was moving to Australia.

So then I went to the tailor's store to try to get a new suit jacket because mine had ripped during last night's heist. The first man in front of me got a white jacket, and the second man in front of me also got a white jacket, but when I chose a white jacket the salesman said, We're all sold out. All they had was black. They may try to sell me black, but they can't make me wear it. After all, only _bad_ guys wear black.

When I met up with Aoko later to go shopping with her like I'd promised, she said I wasn't to cause trouble and annoy people, but I forgot. She also said not to do flashy magic, and I was careful as could be except for that _one_ trick. And when I had to hold her purse while she tried stuff on she said not to mess with her phone but I think I called Australia. She yelled at me and chased me with her mop. It was a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day.

There was salmon for dinner, and I hate salmon. There was a forensics show on TV and that always depresses me. The shower was too hot, I got shampoo in my eyes, dropped my monocle down the drain after washing it, and I had to wear my really old footie pajamas. I hate my footie pajamas. When I went to bed I realized my pillow was still wet from where I had tried to get the makeup off and my mom came in and asked why it was wet and I bit my tongue on accident when she glomped me. I almost cried. It was a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day. My mom says some days are like that.

Even in Australia.

* * *

_Weirder lines are directly from the story (Akako's jelly roll and the strawberry ice-cream-cone insult.)_


	5. The Question

**The Question**

Aoko looked at her friend, and decided today was the day she was finally going to ask. It had been bothering her for quite some time, and today, she was getting answers.

They were in gym class, preparing for their endurance run. Everyone was stretching or warming up. Kaito just seemed to be doing it in a more outrageous fashion. Flips this way, springs that way, and around in circles…And she still couldn't tell. So she looked around at other boys in the class,

Yamada-san…check. Girota-san…check. Hakuba-kun…well, no, but he's blonde so it doesn't really count. But Kaito…

So finally, as he did something improbable that seemed like it ought to be extremely painful, she asked him.

"Kaito?"

"Hmm?" He didn't even look up, intent on his 'warm ups.'

"Do you…shave your legs?"

* * *

_You'd think he'd almost have to, to get away with all those cross-dressing disguises. _


	6. Nakamouri Knows

**Nakamouri Knows**

Kaito entered his bedroom and dropped his backpack on his bed. He stretched, relieved that school was over, grateful it was Friday—

The door swung closed. Kaito spun, dropping instinctively into a defensive crouch before he remembered magicians don't _do_ defensive and straightening up. And then he saw just who it was that had closed his door.

"Nakamouri-keibu, hey! What are you doing here?"

Nakamouri leaned against his bedroom wall. "Kaito, we need to talk."

Kaito swallowed hard. He got the feeling that maybe he won't quite like where this is going…"Uh, sure thing. What about?"

"It's like this…If you're gonna be the KID, then at least have the decency not to let me catch you."

Kaito very nearly brained himself on the floor. "Wh-wh-wh-at?!?"

Nakamouri sighed. "See, very few people in Japan have blue eyes. Even fewer have that indigo-violet colour of yours. Monocles are just that- mono. And then add that to the fact you're energetic, do magic tricks, and posses more flexibility and better reflexes than any human has a right to…Kaito, it's really very obvious."

At this point, Kaito's brain decided it had had enough and was going on strike. Apparently his vocal abilities decided to join his brain. His mouth was open, but all that was coming out was "Buh-….whu-….umm…"

"I'm pretty sure Aoko would be furious if she knew," Nakamouri continued on just as if he didn't see a gawping teenage boy in front of him. "And I…you're like a son to me. For her sake as well as mine, _do not let me catch you._ Of course, that doesn't mean I won't be trying. And…if maybe someday, you feel that you can tell me why, I'd appreciate it."

Kaito was still processing the fact that Nakamouri _knew_ and he, Kaito, was not already in jail. The rest of the conversation was slowly was slowly beginning to sink in as well. Nakamouri pushed himself away from the wall. "Well, that's it." He headed out the door, turning one to toss a bland "good night!" over his shoulder.

And Kaito was left still staring at the spot Nakamouri had been standing in, rather poleaxed.


	7. Finding Hideouts

**Finding Hideouts**

"Hey…Sherry?"

Ai twitched. She hated to be called that. And the only one who ever called her that was…

Sure enough, Conan stood in the doorway. Everything from the casual way he leaned on the door to his single raised eyebrow clearly gave away his purpose. She sighed.

"What is it this time?"

He shifted uncomfortably, and she picked up on the subtle clue; he was about to tread into dangerous territory. "Well, I was just thinking…you did work for the Organization for a while, didn't you?"

He was being _obtuse_ again. "Yes, I did, and we are both aware of it. If you intend to ask a question, please be kind enough to do it. Either stop dancing around it or get out."

"So, if you worked for them, then how come you don't know where their headquarters is?"

Ai had to think about this one for a minute. "Well…I did work there for years, but I never left the building. I _might_ be able to find my way back—eventually…"

"So why don't we call the police, go to their headquarters, grab the pill, pull out the big guns and bring the whole thing down?"

Ai blinked at the not-so-little boy. "That's a very good question."

Conan sighed. "And it took us until now to think of it, too…"

* * *

_A/N: These Conan/Ai scenes are fun to write, and they're perfectly valid questions, as well. It sorta makes you wonder…But I suppose credulity to a certain degree is required, neh?_


	8. Windows to the Soul

**Similarities**

Aoko had been studying Kaito's eyes.

This wasn't a particularly unusual pastime. She simply liked to watch how his expressive eyes changed. At times like now, when he far off in his own world, they were dreamy and unfocused, watching something only he could see.

At times when he suddenly blocked out the rest of the world to scribble furiously in a special notebook, his eyes were determined, strong and fluid. They were violent steel softened by subtle mischief and belaying quiet confidence and strength.

She loved his eyes when he was doing magic tricks. For her, for their class, for random children in the park on weekends; it didn't matter as long as there was an audience. There was happiness there, joy at seeing others' joy. His eyes positively glowed with the pleasure of a well-performed trick, laughed at another of his unfortunate victims. The look was joy and mirth and pleasure, and it was beautiful.

His lashes were longer than any guy should rightly have. His eyebrows were not too thick nor too thin, just perfect to convey cynicism, sarcasm, disbelief, incredulity, or any other number of emotions. When you saw him, the first thing you were drawn to was his eyes; they had so much _spark_ to them that they dominated his face.

However, during all her ears of Kaito-study, only recently and very rarely had she even seen this expression. Today his eyes were indigo, neither entirely purple nor blue. They were deep, so deep, and there was a wealth of feelings there. Only she couldn't read them, and this both annoyed and scared her. There was sadness, yes, and guilt, and possibly…deceit? It was a disturbing effect overall; it made her think of ocean depths. Deep, dark, mysterious, impenetrable, impossible to discover and so, so far away.

And it didn't help at all when they went to the park after school. The look was gone from Kaito's eyes, but she saw the exact same echo in the eyes of a small, soccer ball-toting boy as he looked up at the older teenage girl walking beside him.

_A/N: No idea. Really. Just wanted to do a comparison of Kaito's and Conan's eyes, because they both pretty much have the same eyes and the same girl troubles._


	9. Learning Problems

**Learning Problems**

Sensei had a problem; her two best students were also her two worst.

Honestly, they got the best grades in class, but they never studied never paid attention! No kid should be this smart. That would defeat the entire purpose of being a child. However, when the debate started, she wasn't quite as surprised as she could have been.

She had been in the middle of a history lesson when it happened. They had been talking about Europe and princes and kings. It was Ayumi who asked how the next king was picked; she had apparently been hearing too many conflicting fairy tales to decide on just _one_ way. She and many others seemed surprised to learn it was through family, rather than retrieving magical swords or hidden birthmarks or kissing frogs. Mitsuhiko asked if that worked all the time.

"Well, of course not," spoke up a voice from the back of the room. She checked; sure enough, it was Conan. He had actually put down his habitual Sherlock book to participate. "When that happens people are stuck with an incompetent ruler."

"Or they revolt, or there's a war." This quiet voice was from the other strange child, Ai. "Sometimes both. Look at _Macbeth,_ for instance.

Conan snorted. "Bah, you can't use that; it's literature, not history."

""Well then, the American Civil war, or the French Revolution."

"And maybe the War of Roses as well…"

"No, that was over succession."

"Yeah, and that's what we're discussing."

"But the connotations are different; you also have to take into account…"

The teacher slapped her hand to her head. She let the debate rage on for a little while, listening with increasing incredulity. Kids should just _not_ know this. The rest of their class was just baffled.

Finally, she interrupted them. "Please, you two. If you're going to continue to be smarter than the rest of the class, please do it outside and let me get back to the lesson."


	10. The Problem with Rubies

**The Problem with Rubies**

Kaitou KID sighed as the Task Force once again resorted to the time-honored tradition of throwing themselves in a heap on the ground. You'd think they'd realize this would never work. Besides, what was the _point?_ If they ever did pin him down, he'd just set off a smoke bomb or sleep-gas or something. Perhaps he could invent a little 'surprise' for just such an occasion…

But that was neither here nor there. Right now, as he sat on the roof, he was entirely focused on one thing; tonight's gem. The Maiden's Tear, it was called. This in itself was promising, though he really didn't expect much from it. That's why, when streaming moonlight threw a red glow over his face, he nearly dropped the gem in shock. Was this it? He'd found Pandora?

And that's when he realized. Emeralds glowed green in the moonlight, sapphires blue. What colour had he expected rubies to glow? He couldn't even tell if there was the outline of another jewel inside. Durned rubies. He dropped his head into his hands. This search might take longer than he'd thought.

A _lot_ longer.


	11. Possibly Cured

**Possible Cure**

He was here again. This was starting to get annoying. Why must he always bother her while she was in the middle of very important research? For _him_, she might add. "What irritating questions do you have for me today?"

After all this time, he knew to go straight to the question and not take forever about it. "If you're the one who developed the drug, then can't you either remember the components, or re-develop it? Why do you need a sample if you're the creator?"

Ai rolled her eyes. "I may be a genius, but even I can't memorize chemical equations that long. Also-"

"But if you experimented with them for God knows how long, surely you know what you were using."

"I do. Most of them can't be acquired through legal means."

Conan seemed baffled for a minute, trying to come up with a rebuttal. He failed. Spectacularly.

Ai was enjoying this. After all, it wasn't every day she got to pull one over on Conan/Shinichi. She liked this feeling; maybe she should try being smarter than him more often.


	12. Handicapped

**Handicapped**

**-------**

Kaitou Kid had to be able to split his attention many ways, have perfect timing, insanely quick response times, and be very quick on his feet. Take all these together, and it was absolutely no surprise that Kuroba Kaito was incredible at DDR.

Aoko was watching her friend in amazement. She had just gotten the home system for her birthday, and declared they would have to play it after school. So he had come over, mangled the cords, been useless at set up, and proceeded to get near perfect scores.

Every time. Even on Super-Ultra-Really-Impossibly-On-Beyond-Hard mode.

After the fourth or fifth round of being completely overshadowed and out-danced, she'd made a stupid comment. When she said it, she didn't think he'd even notice, much less respond. But now he was flipped over on his hands, facing the screen upside-down, and still hitting every step in perfect time.

"Umm...Kaito? That's not exactly what I meant by 'handicap'…"

---

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_Yeah, weird, I know, but it so seems like something he would do, doesn't it?_


	13. Nemewha?

**Neme-wha?**

**-------**

"…And then there was a KABOOM! and the alien blew up the mountain but it was okay because then Masked Yaiba showed up and…"

Conan stopped listening. Or rather, he could still hear the mindless, excited chatter; he simply refused to acknowledge it. After all, who cared what happened on a kids' tv show?

"…And then after the fight the alien died but not really 'cause he came back to life and called his other alien-y friends and they all came too and…"

He didn't think he'd ever heard such a long sentence before. It just went on and on. If this kept up, Mitsuhiko could probably describe the whole movie in just one sentence.

"…And then Masked Yaiba kicked all their butts and saved the city, but then he found out it was all a part of Doctor Dark's evil plan to defeat him and now Doctor Dark has joined up with all of Masked Yaiba's other nemesis-izes and…wait, is that a word? Nemesis-izes?" The three turned to look at Conan.

Conan looked up to see the three kids looking at him expectantly. He finally realized they were asking him a question and mentally replayed the last few seconds of conversation. "What word?"

"Nemesis-izeses." Ayumi replied, stretching it out as long as she could. Either that or she just really couldn't tell.

"Well, 'nemesis', so it could be 'nemesis-es', which sounds weird, or 'nemis-i', but that also sounds wrong…" He thought about it for a while and was surprised to find he didn't know. "Maybe it's already plural? Like 'fish'?"

"I think it's 'nemeeses'!" cheered Genta. Somehow, Conan doubted this. Still, there was one was to make sure, even though he hated to do it. But if he didn't, it would bug him all day.

"Hey, Haibara. What's the plural of 'nemesis'?"

She didn't even look over her book. "Enemies."

---

---

_In case you were wondering, the actual plural is 'nemesis' pronounced 'neme-sees'. I actually had no clue either, but Conan can't know everything, can he?_

_No idea on the Masked Yaiba villain, just pulled a random name from thin air. Actually, blame the people behind me discussing Doc Oct._


	14. The Substitute

**The Substitute**

**--------**

"Oh, come on, you just gotta!" Wheedling.

"No, Kuroba, we've been over this. I refuse." Firm.

"But I really, really need your help?"

"No. And it's not changing."

"Awwww, Shin-chan, you're no fun anymore." Inspiration hits. "I'll tell Ran-kun!"

"I told her myself. Yesterday." Smugness.

"Darn." Silence.

"I'll burgle your room?"

"You could try."

Inspiration. "You wouldn't want to see your one chance of catching those guys go to jail, would you?"

Pause. "That's a low blow."

"Yeah, well, all's fair in love and war!"

"Which is this?"

"Uhh…neither, I guess. But that's not the point! So you'll do it?"

Sigh. "I suppose."

Excitement. "Wonderful! I knew you were just dying to try it, just once!"

Defeat. "Shut up. I am not doing this because of repressed longings, whatever you might think. I just have to get the gem, right? And it will be returned afterwards?"

"Yes, of course." Seriousness. "Unless it's the one I'm looking for, in which case both our lives just got harder."

"And why aren't you available to pull off the heist that you scheduled?" Annoyed.

"One particular blonde detective is getting too close for comfort. I'll be busy…_distracting_ him."

"I don't think I want to know."

"No….It'd prolly give you nightmares."

---

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_I'll let you guess what Kaito was threatening to tell Ran about, and not just 'cause I'm lazy and/or don't know myself. I realize Shinichi is probably OOC and would never do a KID heist, but you gotta think he maybe wanted to at some point. Who _doesn't _ want to hang glide their way into a high-security building packed with pissed police officers to steal a jewel? _


	15. It Could Be Worse

**It could be worse…**

Conan sighed for the third time in as many minutes. Heiji, watching him, was hard-pressed to subdue one of his own. He was in Tokyo overnight and had been looking forward to hanging out with Kudo for a while. This, however, was just getting downright depressing.

"What's got ya all down there, Kudo?" Like he didn't know.

Conan sighed again. "Life, Hattori. My life sucks. I'm living a farce and watching Ran suffer for it."

It's hard to argue with the truth, but, "Hey, it could be worse."

"Yeah, right; how so?"

"Ya coulda been shrunk into a little girl."

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_Yahoo! Exact drabble! 100 words! Yes this is the first actual drabble in my lovely little drabble thread. --Sniff-- I'm so proud! Somehow, this idea of Heiji's "It could be worse" is highly amusing to me... Also, I know I haven't been updating anywhere near constantly, but I do try to post a handful at a time...Am I forgiven?  
_


	16. Catching Flies

_(A/N: I'm actually skipping out of a early Christmas party to type this real quick...)_

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**Catching Flies**_  
_

"So then, what's up with you?"

The little boy looked up at the person before him and sighed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

The other snorted. "I'm the Kaitou Kid. I do twelve impossible things before breakfast. What wouldn't I believe?"

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you...You know that really famous teen detective that disappeared a couple of months ago?"

Kid wracked is brains for a minute before the name turned up. "Kudo...Shinichi or something, right?

It was Conan's turn to make a disbelieving noise. "He shot at you and was the only one who ever came that close to catching you. Don't expect me to believe you can't recall his name."

He grinned. "All right, all right, you caught me. And what has he got to do with anything?'

"Well, you see, a couple of months ago, he got caught somewhere he shouldn't have been hearing something he shouldn't have heard. He was given this untested poison, which was a really stupid move actually. Instead of killing him, it shrunk him down to a ten-year younger version of himself."

Kid took this in, tried to process it, failed, and began again. "But then he would be about seven or eight and that would mean..." When it did click, his jaw dropped probably farther than was physically possible.

Conan took great pleasure in shocking the magician-thief, and eventually said, "Close your mouth; you're catching flies."

Kid did close his mouth; in fact, he was very quick about it. And then a terribly odd expression crossed his face, and he started making spluttering, choking noises. At first Conan was wary, certain it was some sort of prank. The face turning blue under the monocle finally convinced him it was indeed not, and he rushed to help by pounding the other on the back. Kid began hacking, and finally a small black object flew out of his mouth. After a few additional coughs, they both watched the small object take to the air and fly away.

Finally, Conan shook himself from his shock and remarked, "Well...I told you so."

----

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_Yeah, can you imagine the whole 'catching flies' bit coming true? The expression has always amused me. I figure if anyone would do something life-threatening, near-impossible and quite stupid, it's be Kid. Even if it wasn't on purpose._


	17. Lightening Up

_Dedicated to Basser and blissified, two of my four reviewers who said they liked these Ai/Conan scenes..._

**Lightening Up**

"Ai, you need to lighten up."

And there was Conan _again_, in her doorway. "You come into my lab uninvited, disrupt my work and generally annoy me to tell me to _lighten up?_"

Conan nodded; "And see, that's exactly what I mean. You're too...too _you _to be a little kid. No one's ever gonna buy your disguise if you can't act like a kid sometimes. I'm surprised more people haven't noticed."

Ai frowned at him; for her, this was a relatively intense expression. "Are _you_ trying to tell _me_ to lay lower, Mr.-I'm-Way-Too-Used-To-Random-Dead-Bodies-And-Smarter-Than-The-Average-Adult?"

He pouted a little. "At least I'm social. And it's not like I flaunt my skills or anything."

"I heard Megure-keibu talking to Takagi-san the other day, you know." This was said entirely too casually to be casual. "Something like how that little Conan-kid is way to desensitized and smart for his own good..." Ai turned back to her computer, for all appearances ignoring the little boy.

"Hey!" he protested. "It's not my fault that dead bodies seem to follow me everywhere!"

Ai actually looked back at him, albeit sideways. "Are you _sure_ it isn't your fault? Because I've been thinking. Your dad writes about death; you deal with death. Maybe it's genetic?"

"Yeah, right. Besides, my genes aren't my fault either, you know."

"If you say so." she said smugly; after all, she'd made her point and planted the doubts.

"Ai!"

"Look, do you want a cure or not?" At his reluctant nod, she said, with an air of finality, "Then get out!"

As he sulked out of the room, she slipped the headphones back on and pressed the 'unpause' button on her movie. After all, even a prodigy can't be expected to work _all_ the time.


	18. The A Word

**The A-Word**

"Well, you're a poopyhead!"

"And you're a stupid idiot!"

"That's the same thing, moron!

"No it isn't, dummy!"

"Yes it is, dimwit!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"No they're not, you…you AHOU!"

"Who's the ahou, ahou!"

"You are, ahou!"

"Am not, ahou!"

"Are so, ahou!"

"Am NOT!"

"Are SO!"

And thus, on a day many years in the past, the eternal insult was born…

----

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_I figure it doesn't much matter who's who, though I wrote it with Kazuha starting (but that's only in my head). This is my take on how Heiji and Kazuha adopted their 'pet name'. I mean, it had to come from_ somewhere.


	19. Answering the Phone

**Answering the Phone**

The phone rings, and Ran sighs. Normally Conan would get it, but he was at Agasa-hakase's and her father was watching Yoko again. So, it falls to her.

She hates answering the phone. There is always that brief moment of fire-hope that burns so bright, only to die when it isn't _him_. Every time, her heart breaks just that little bit more. And yet, it falls to her, so she reaches out for the contraption, telling herself it isn't him, don't get excited because it _couldn't_ be him. But maybe this time...

It isn't him.

It never is.

----

----

_Gee, y'know, this started out as a crack Shinichi-calls-Ran fic (which I intend to write eventually, prolly for this same thread), then turned into this. Its one redeeming quality is that it is...dun-dun-DUN...another perfect Drabble! Whee! That makes two!_


	20. Nicknames

**Nicknames**

Kaito was lazing under a tree with Aoko during lunch when Hakuba walked by. As soon as he was in hailing distance, Kaito shouted, "Hey! 'Kuba-kun!"

Despite the demeaning epithet, Hakuba wandered over to the pair. "Hello Aoko-kun, Kuroba-kun."

Aoko added a greeting and the newcomer turned to the reclining magician. "I do wish you wouldn't call me that."

"What would you prefer? I suppose you need a nickname; everyone else has one."

The blond took a seat on the grass with the other two. "Have they?"

"Yeah. I'm 'the magician' or 'that idiot!' depending on whether you talk to people or Aoko. Koizumi-kun is 'that creepy witch-girl', and Aoko is 'the violent-mop girl'." He expertly dodged Aoko swat at his head with the minimum amount of movement. "I was thinking you could be 'the repressed detective-wannabe,' or possibly," and here he changed to English, complete with Hakuba's voice and accent, "possibly, 'that bloody foreign git'." Shifting back to Japanese, he asked, "Which to you prefer?"

The aforementioned simply stared at him for a minute. "You know, I don't think I'll talk to you anymore. Just being around you lowers my IQ." He got up to leave.

As he walked away, Kaito called after him, "Fine, but if you don't pick one,_ I_ will!"

----

----

_Not sure if they do really have nicknames or what, but if they did, who's to say it wouldn't be these, yeah? Personally, I find myself leaning more for the first name Kaito suggests..._

_FYI, I have decided " 'Kuba-kun" will be my trademark nickname for 'the repressed detective-wannabe' or 'that bloody foreign git,' depending on your preference. _


	21. My Mommy Always Says

**My Mommy Always Said...**

Kaito was looking distinctly uncomfortable. He was sitting up straight, which was odd, and being quiet, which was odder still. The entire class was thrown off by his relatively 'good' behaivour. He did, however, keep lifting his hands to his ears, then lowering them again.

Finally, during a break between classes, Aoko asked him what was wrong. He looked around nervously, then looked back at her. Nervous? Since when was _Kaito_nervous This was a little scary. "Well, umm…when you were a kid, did your parents ever tell you that if you swallowed a grape seed a grape plant would grow in your tummy?"

She nodded, but still looked confused. "Yeah, and watermelon seeds, too."

"Okay, so you know how 'impossible' doesn't really apply to me?"

She nodded at this as well, back on familiar ground.

"We-ell, I think I, umm…might be growing a plant…"

She nodded a third time, then fell over laughing.

----

----

_And 'impossible' doesn't really apply to him, does it? Somehow, neither do the laws of physics and gravity. However, he is my favorite character, and so much fun to write (if you hadn't noticed from all the Kaito-centric drabbles--gotta get more Conan up!). _


	22. Chicken Soup for the Soul

**Chicken Soup for the Soul**

Conan stared dubiously at the bowl Eri plunked down on the tray he held. She added a spoon and a napkin, followed by a glass of water. He stared some more.

"What are you waiting for?" She asked cheerfully. "Go on, take that in to Ran."

He looked at it a little longer. "I don't know...Are you sure this is safe?"

"Of course! Chicken soup has always been a cure-all! It's really popular in the West! And this particular recipe has been in the family for generations. Of course, I changed it a bit, if you catch my meaning." She winked at him.

"Yeah. That's what I was afraid of." Still, he hoisted the tray off the counter and carried it carefully down the hall. Walking slowly, so as not to spill any, he arrived at Ran's door. The sounds of sniffles reached him, and he opened the door with his foot.

"Ran-neechan, I brought you some soup."

She sat up in bed, and he winced as he saw that she looked as terrible as she sounded. Her nose was red and swollen, and her hair was a mess. Used tissues littered the floor near her bed. Even so, she smiled at him. Or attempted to.

Conan winced at the expression, and brought the tray closer. Setting it up on the edge of the bed, he took the spoon and stirred it a bit. "Your mom made it, so I'd be careful. She says chicken soup is a cure-all..."

His words faded out as he lifted the spoon. Both he and Ran stared in horror at the handle that ended halfway down, about where it'd touched the soup.

"Y'know, Conan, I don't think I'm _that _sick..." Her voice was odd-sounding, but still held quite discernible horror.

"Yeah. I'll just go heat up a can of soup. Without your mother touching it."

"Please."

* * *

_Because I really do need to get more Conan up._

_FF net has apparently decided the only sort of scene break you can now use are the horizontal lines, so from now on horizontal lines it will be. Sorry, folks._

* * *


	23. A Day in the Life

**A Day in the Life**

With a _slam!_ and a _clink!_, the cell door slid shut again. Tsunashima was laying stretched out, eyes closed, on one of the dinky beds. He didn't bother looking up at his cell-mate. "How bad was it this time?"

A growl was his only answer as the other crossed the small room to throw himself on the bed. Then..."I hate this 'therapy' shit! I do NOT have anger management issues! And I shouldn't even be here!"

He snorted. "Don't try to pull that 'I'm innocent' crap again. That last appeal did you no good. Their evidence tore your story into little bitty pieces, then danced a jig on them for good measure. You've got nothing to stand on."

"You think I don't know?" The voice was getting louder and more annoying. He sighed and turned to face the concrete wall. "I know damn well what happened!" A sound that could only be the other kicking something rather unyielding and most likely hard was followed by another growl. "That damned little kid with his glasses and stupid getup and...and...and his too-smartness!"

He thought about pointing out that that last phrase did not, in fact, exist, but decided it was better to simply let it go.

Just then, a voice one cell over chimed in, "Yeah, that annoying little kid with glasses? He got me too." Damn. That idiot's voice must've carried too well. Voices from everywhere began piping up as well.

"That damned Conan-kid..."

"...And I thought that little blond girl was so innocent-looking..."

"...would've gotten away with it, too..."

"...meddling kids..."

"...thinks he's sooo smart..."

"...stupid bow tie..."

The two cell-mate glanced at each other. Just how many people had this little kid put away, anyhow?

He was beginning to think he didn't even want to know.

* * *

_Mwahaha. 'Cause you know they'd meet in jail and have big complaint sessions about Conan, considering the amount of people he's sent there. Oh, and shameless Scooby-Doo references are fun._

_And Tsunashima is really a person Conan sent to jail. I looked it up. So hah._


	24. Phone Calls II

**Phone Calls II**

_**Or, Let's try this again**_

Conan sighed as he slipped out of the stairwell and headed down the street. He'd heard Ran crying last night, which meant today was Shinichi-calls day. So he's taken his bow tie and was now heading off to a pay phone.

"Moshi moshi?" Ran chirped into the receiver when she answered the phone. She couldn't be sad, not when Shinichi was working. After all, he was doing someone somewhere good, right? Even if it wasn't with her...

"Hey, Ran. How's it going?" Well, speak of the devil. She grasped the receiver in both hands and leaned against the nearest available surface—her father's desk.

"Shi-shinichi! Where are you? Is the case done?"

"Not yet, Ran. I'm working on it, but it's tough."

"You've always been able to figure out the culprit within minutes! Is this case really so difficult?"

There was a bit of harsh laughter. "Oh, I know who did it, all right. Trust me, that was never a problem. I just can't _find_ them."

"Well, can't you search from here?"

"I could, but I don't want to."

"What! Shinichi, you-"

"Chill, Ran! Listen, these people know I'm after them. And they don't want to be found. So, if they find me first, anyone around me is going to be in danger too! I can't come back yet, don't you see?"

"Oh." He was protecting her by staying away. Well, that certainly put things into a new perspective. "Well, in that case, take as long as you need. Don't come back until you've found them, okay?"

"You—you're okay with this?"

"Idiot. You're doing this to help me. Just be careful, all right?"

When she hung up, she felt a whole lot better than she had since Shinichi had left. After all, he'd at least given her a reason.

* * *

_This was what the other Phone Calls was meant to be._

_Because I honestly cannot understand why he doesn't tell her he's saving her and not putting her in danger. You'd think he'd even play the guilt-trip card. Huh._

_Go figure._


	25. Mistakes

**Mistakes**

"I'm hungry!"

"You just ate lunch!"

"I don't care; I'm hungry!"

Kaito had been enlisted for shopping duty. This wasn't an unusual situation, however, it was one Kaito spent lots of time trying to wiggle out of. Occasionally though, like today, it was unavoidable. Whether through guilt or blackmail, Aoko knew how to manipulate her friend.

"…and then we'll go to that one shop that's got all those cute little thingies and THEN we'll eat, all right?"

Kaito was grumbling to himself under his breath. However, the word 'eat' caught his attention. It has that affect on many teenage boys. "Fine then, let's go!" He grabbed her wrist and started weaving through the crowds before stopping. "Ummm…which store was it again?" he asked sheepishly.

* * *

Shinichi, newly returned, was trying to spend more time with Ran. If this involved following her around the shopping mall, so be it. If it involved carrying her purchases, well, so be it. But he would -not- follow her into the lingerie department. There's only so much a guy can take, after all, and he _really _didn't feel like being karate'd near to death any more times in the foreseeable future.

So instead, he was just sitting on the bench outside, waiting for her to be done with…whatever she was doing, and watching the people passing by. He had turned it into a sort of game, trying to read the people hurrying about their daily lives. It helped keep his skill sharp, and with his luck, it might just be useful later when the inevitable corpse happened by.

There was a lady, carrying lots of bags and looking hassled; judging by the names on the bags, she was shopping for a kid's present. Possibly her own, but more likely a cousin or nephew. And there, that man had just got a new grill and had no clue how to deal with it; nobody else buys plastic barbecue tools. They melt. And there, that kid….He blinked. That kid…was him? But he was sitting here, not over there flipping that girl's skirt. So, logically, that was not him. Hooray for logic. Not that it did him much good, because the kid was still there, running away from the angry girl, passing by the department store and getting seized by Ran and towed away and...oh shit.

* * *

Aoko blinked, then saw Kaito sitting on the bench across the way. _How did he get there?_ Chalking it up to one of his 'magic tricks,' she charged over and seized him by the collar.

"You, mister, are coming with me."

Shinichi didn't even have time to get out a single word. He managed to twist a bit so he wasn't being choked, and was at least facing forward. The girl, who looked surprisingly like Ran, would not let him go. Desperate, he did what he would never have even considered doing before that moment. He did what had seen the other boy do earlier. He flipped her skirt, and, when she dropped him to hold down her skirt, he _ran_.

* * *

Ran was surprised to see Shinichi running by; he said he'd wait on the bench. Still, this made it more convenient, so who was she to complain? He was saying something, it was all mixed up, but the word 'mistake' was clearly audible numerous times. Probably another case that had occurred while she'd been in the store; she couldn't leave him alone for five minutes! Honestly!

"Look, lady, let me go! Where are you dragging me off to anyways? Stop!"

Ran turned to face Shinichi, intending to give him a good dressing-down. He'd always been inconsiderate, but that was just plain rude! She started to launch her tirade at the poor, bewildered boy, but stopped. "Wait a second, there's something wrong…your hair! What'd you do to your hair?" She looked closer as he fidgeted uncomfortably, but she didn't even give him time to open his mouth, much less explain. "You…you're not Shinichi!"

Just then, a scream came from a store they had just passed. "AHHH!! Help! Somebody! He's dead!"

Ran sighed. "Never mind. You're Shinichi."

* * *

_I somehow love the idea of Ran identifying Shinichi based on the inevitable corpses. Because really, how else do you tell Shinichi and Kaito apart?_

_Imagine your own ending for poor Shinichi. There's too many possibilities to pick just one._


	26. Quality Time

**Quality Time **

Conan stared.

Hakuba blinked.

Conan stared.

Hakuba shifted in his seat.

Conan stared.

Hakuba developed a twitch.

And Conan stared.

Finally, Hakuba decided that enough was enough. "Look, I don't know what you want from me," he told the child. "I have never been good with children—"

"What a coincidence." Conan growled. "Neither have I."

Hakuba blinked, taken aback. What was _that_ supposed to mean? He decided on ignoring the comment. "It is not _my_ fault we are here. Nor was it my idea."

His response was an untranslatable growl. However, he _had_ been telling the truth. Stupid magicians and their stupid ideas. What sort of reason is "bonding time" for shoving two persons in a room? But then, no one had ever been able to fathom Kuroba or his motives. He did know, however, that he didn't _want_ to bond with this odd child, and he was pretty convinced the other wanted nothing to do with him.

So with nothing else to do, he stood up and headed towards the door with murder on his mind.

"Where are you going?" Conan sounded suspicious.

"I am going to improvise. Suddenly and violently and all over Kuroba-kun."

There was a startling chuckle. "Can I help?"

"Be my guest." He stepped aside to let Conan through the door first, then shut it behind them. As they headed out in search of a doomed magician, Hakuba reflected that maybe "quality time" was all right after all. You just had to know what to do.

* * *

_There is very little interaction between these two in the series. In fact, I think they only meet once, during the fake tv-show-thing on the island. However, I think Conan would be resentful for being resented, and Hakuba just doesn't seem like a kid-person. Anyhow, I like 'em like this._

_Anyone who caught the Simon Green allusion gets virtual cookies._

_This was supposed to go up with my other update; oops. Many many thanks to those who reviewed! _


	27. Disguises

**Disguises**

Professor Agasa and the newly diminutive Shinichi sat in the old man's living room, discussing various ways to hide a not-really-so-little boy. Staying at his old house was out of the question entirely, which really left him staying here, as lovely as that prospect sounded. They'd just got as far as trying to think up a fake name when Agasa clapped his hands. "I know! You need a disguise! I've got just the thing!" Shinichi watched him bounce up with apprehension. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like this one bit.

.

Shinichi glanced at himself in the mirror.

"No. Absolutely no way."

Agasa stood behind him, peering over his shoulder. "Oh, come, now, Shinichi, you know you need a disguise."

"A disguise hides your identity. It does not necessarily make you look like an idiot." Shinichi raised a small eyebrow at himself. "And I thought the point was not to stand out?"

The professor clapped his hands. "But you don't stand out at all!"

Shinichi twisted around to glare at at him over the edge of his chair. "Bleach-blond hair on a seven-year-old doesn't stand out?"

"Oh, give it a chance..."

"Sure. A snowball's chance in hell."

"Well, fine! See if I make any more inventions for you!"

Shinichi blanched. "You...you _made _this?"

Agasa nodded proudly. "Store-bought stuff just can't compare!"

Shinichi was trembling and white. "I...I don't suppose you know how to get it out?"

Agasa looked down at his feet. "Well, see, I'm still kind of working on that part..."

Shinichi eyed him nervously. "You mean I'm stuck like this?!"

"Nope!" The professor whipped a bottle out from behind his back. "My last remover sort of works. It gets rid of the blond, at least."

"Gets rid of...?"

"Yup! Would you prefer purple?"

* * *

_Because it might have happened if Shinichi'd had more time to plan things out. And 'cause Shin-chan as a blondie amuses the hell outta me._

_Many thanks to all those who corrected me on my last mistake--Conan and Hakuba_ do_ meet twice. I really ought to know this considering how _Empathy_,_ _my other WIP, is sort of based on those two meetings. Darnit, I DID know. I guess I just had a brain-fart. Sorry, and thanks anyhow!_

* * *


End file.
